Tag: Japan

Jamal Saberi (full name, Jalal Ahmadzade-Nouei) is a political activist opposed to the current Islamic regime in Iran. After refugee status was rejected for Saberi by the Japanese government, he was arrested, and now he faces deportation to Iran; a move that will no doubt lead to Saberi’s arrest by the Iranian regime. In detention, Saberi will face torture and possibly death.

Jamal Saberi left Iran for Japan in 1990. In 1992 he joined the Worker-communist Party of Iran (WPI) and began his political activities in Japan against the violation of human rights in Iran. As a member of WPI, an Iranian opposition party, Jamal wrote many articles against the Islamic Republic of Iran. He also wrote articles that exposed Japan’s diplomatic relations with the Iranian regime. Several of his writings have appeared in the Japanese press as well as Iranian publications such as Hambastegi (organ of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees – IFIR) and Javanan-e Komonist (organ of Communist Youth Organization).

He applied for refugee status in Japan on May 28, 2002. His application was turned down by the Immigration Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Justice on March 28, 2002. He appealed this decision in April of the same year. The appeal was rejected and the Japanese police issued an order for his arrest and deportation.

Jamal was arrested in late October 2003 and transported to the Immigration Bureau’s detention center, where he was kept for one year. At the time of his arrest, Jamal had already become a popular human rights activist among the Left organizations, human rights organizations, and the trade unions. Consequently, his detention was protested by several organizations that eventually succeeded to stop the deportation order.

Albeit, the Japanese government did not grant Jamal refugee status, and the UNHCR did not make any efforts to assist Jamal Saberi.

Jamal Saberi’s lawyer has stated recently that his client is in danger of deportation to Iran.

Human rights activists around the world are working hard to ensure that Jamal Saberi does not get deported to Iran. The International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) has urged all organizations to take immediate action to save Jamal Saberi from deportation to Iran. The IFIR demands from the Japanese government to release Jamal from jail, revoke his deportation order, and take appropriate measures to protect his life in Japan.